A cloned rat CD38-homologous protein and its expression in pancreatic islets

Cyclic ADP-ribose recently has been suggested to be an important intracellular signal for insulin secretion. CD38, which was originally isolated from human lymphocytes as a surface marker, is active in the synthesis of cyclic ADP-ribose. We report here the cloning of a rat CD38-homologous protein (CD38H) which is expressed in pancreatic islets. The deduced amino acid sequence shows that rat CD38H is a protein of 303 amino acids (M(r), 34.4 kD) and contains one possible membrane-spanning domain, consistent with a type II transmembrane glycoprotein. The overall identity and similarity of the amino acid sequences between the human CD38 and the rat CD38H are 58% and 76%, respectively. RNA blot analysis showed a strong signal of 3.4 kb in rat brain, duodenum, and heart. CD38H also is shown to be expressed in pancreatic islets by the RT-PCR procedure, but its expression is not significantly different in Wistar and GK rats, a genetic model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The presence of rat CD38H in the pancreatic islets suggests that CD38H may be involved in insulin secretion by synthesizing cADP-ribose.